In Douluo Continent, I am the mastermind behind the scenes.

After an unknown amount of time, Long Yeyue suddenly slammed the intelligence report in her hand onto the table, a smug look immediately appearing on her face. "I found it! Just six days ago, a fleet..."

Before Long Yeyue could finish speaking, Qian Gu Qingfeng suddenly stood up, snatched the documents in front of Long Yeyue, and with a burst of energy, the encyclopedia-thick paper instantly turned into a pile of powder.

"Qian Gu Qing Feng, what are you trying to do?"

Long Yeyue slammed her hand on the table, her phoenix eyes wide with anger, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.

Qian Gu Qingfeng sneered, "According to your logic, the mastermind behind this has bribed all the high-ranking officials in the Tianhai Alliance. Is it really that difficult to replace the port's inspection officials with their people?"

Upon hearing this, the remaining two destroyed the documents in their hands. They were all in positions of power, and there was no need to say too much.

The Age of Exploration had begun, and countless ships entered and exited port cities every day. There was not much to do; simply replacing the officials in charge of review and recording with one of their own people and making slight alterations to the records of the ships entering and leaving was enough to deceive everyone.

Although this approach seemed somewhat crude, it had the advantage of having too many port cities in the eastern part of Douluo Continent, making investigation too troublesome, and the occasional dispatch of assassins to interfere with the investigation's progress...

Thinking of this, Bing Muxue shook her head, realizing that investigating the origin of the ship was probably not a viable option.

"Vice Tower Master Qian Gu, then tell me... where should we focus our investigation?"

Bing Muxue rested her chin on her hands and asked her ally's opinion without any hesitation.

"I do have a somewhat immature idea."

Qian Gu Qingfeng picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote the four characters "fish eyes mixed with pearls" on the table.

"I believe everyone has been to the black market when they were young. As a gray area industry, most of the vendors there are far more trustworthy than outsiders. The reason is simple: their behavior is not exactly upright. Otherwise, they would probably not be able to do business if they did not create a reputation as trustworthy merchants to maintain a facade."

"Similarly, as a force hidden in the shadows, they value their reputation more than their own lives."

As he spoke, Qian Gu Qing Feng suddenly revealed a villainous smile.

……

three days later.

The suite on the top floor of the Tianhai City Seaview Hotel.

Azi pushed a device that looked like a tablet computer in front of Qin Yi. "Brother Yi, someone reported that starting two days ago, some key members of their family business suddenly disappeared without a trace, and today... some collateral members of the family have also started to disappear. They've searched the entire Tianhai City but haven't found anything. They suspect..."

"You suspect the Sun Moon Empire is behind this, right?" Qin Yi said expressionlessly, looking at the now grown-up girl in front of him.

Azi nodded, her eyes full of anticipation. "The Sun Moon Empire has taken the initiative; how... should we retaliate?"

"Initiate the final plan." Qin Yi's expression was calm as still water, as if he were simply issuing a routine order.

"The final... plan?" Azi frowned, a pang of sadness flashing through her heart. "Brother Yi, has it really come to this?"

Qin Yi chuckled and said, "It's only a matter of time. I don't have time to play games with these intellectually challenged natives."

As he spoke, Qin Yi's expression suddenly turned serious. "Azi, don't feel pressured. My immortal herbs aren't so easy to take. Everyone realized that this is money to buy their lives. Even if someone doesn't want to do it respectably, others will help them do it respectfully."

After saying that, Qin Yi sighed, walked to the window, and gazed at the sea view in front of him, his thoughts drifting away.

Why did so many predecessors during the Song Dynasty try to change the status quo of the court and reform some of the criticized laws, but they always ended in failure?

Qin Yi couldn't understand it before, but after he reached this position, he gradually understood many things. The reform would fail entirely because of the pursuit of profit.

Some things cannot be solved by suppressing them with force or killing a few people. The most important thing is to change the mainstream ideology of the Soul Master community.

……

The next morning, a bombshell announcement spread throughout Tianhai City.

All the high-ranking officials of the former Tianhai Alliance, as well as their families and businesses, were reduced to ashes overnight!

Upon learning the news, Bing Muxue, Long Yeyue, Qian Gu Qingfeng, and Zang Xin rushed to the scene immediately. Seeing the mess in front of them, none of the four looked too good.

What kind of enemy are they facing?

This involves thousands of people, thousands of Soul Masters, including many three-word Battle Armor Masters. Can all of these people be given dignity overnight? And are most of them doing this willingly?

Is this some kind of outrageous nonsense?!

What kind of price did the mastermind offer?

After a brief site survey, the three returned to the manor outside the city, led by Bing Muxue.

"In this round... we achieved a resounding victory."

As he spoke, Qian Gu Qingfeng stretched and then slumped onto the sofa, closing his eyes to rest.

Long Yeyue pouted and said irritably, "They voluntarily gave up the Tianhai City stronghold, what's there to be proud of..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zang Xin forcibly dragged Long Yeyue out of the room.

They only won one round. The mastermind only lost a stronghold in Tianhai City, which is far from being a serious blow. In the future, the two factions will have opportunities to cooperate. We cannot let Long Yeyue run rampant.

Seeing the sullen Long Yeyue beside him, Zang Xin promptly broke the ice, "This commotion in the Dragon Valley Secret Realm is destined to be significant. What are Vice Pavilion Master Long's plans?"

Long Yeyue said thoughtfully, "We definitely need to send people, especially the younger generation with dragon-type martial souls. If they can come back alive after a trip to Dragon Valley, their talents will definitely improve significantly."

"I heard that... a month ago, the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Clan set sail with the Heavenly Dragon Gate. Now that I think about it, they must have been heading to Dragon Valley."

Zang Xin sighed and said, "I just don't know what the environment of Dragon Valley is like, and... we can't rule out the possibility that someone might bring Vesbania ore into Dragon Valley. When selecting people to go to Dragon Valley, we must deliberately avoid young people who are weak in physical skills."

Ugh!

Long Yeyue sighed as well. Having lived for over two hundred years, her first half of life had been incredibly glorious; she had even slapped the Spirit Pagoda Master, accomplishing something no previous Sea God Pavilion Master had ever achieved. (End of Chapter)